What It Seems
by evergreen451
Summary: When the fairies discover a mysterious patch of magic in Britain that they can't get into, they send 14-year old Artemis to investigate- and what he finds will surprise even him. Set in 4th year, Artemis will be meeting Harry and all the rest. Rated T just because I'm paranoid. Terrible summary, sorry!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This will be set during the fourth year at Hogwarts. It's between The Lost Colony and The Time Paradox, when Artemis is 14. Please review even if just to say you like it! Crit is also appreciated (as are title suggestions)! It's my first fic, so it's probably not the best. But I'll stop talking now so you can read...**

Artemis was in the middle of working on a complicated paradoxial equation when the large ring on his hand vibrated and the stone in it flashed slightly. He sighed in frustration, mismatched eyes narrowing, twisted the ring into his palm, flipped it open, and put his hand to his ear.

"Yes?" He drawled, voice cold.

"Mud Boy, you there?" came Foaly's voice, crystal clear although he was calling from the depths of the earth.

"I'm here," Artemis said in the same icy tone. "And this had better be important."

"Oh, it is," Foaly said, and the seriousness in his voice made Artemis focus completely on the call. "I'm sending Holly up," Foaly continued abruptly. "She'll fill you in on the details." Then the centaur was gone.

Artemis frowned. If it couldn't be spoken about over the fairy communicator, and Holly had gotten a surface visa just to come explain the situation, then whatever this was, it was most definitely important.

Half an hour later (which Artemis spent thinking of various possible situations and calculating the probabilities of each one happening) there was a quiet knock on the window frame of his office. Artemis opened the window.

"Come in, Holly."

A slight, shimmering haze drifted in from the window, settled on the floor, and a small, lithe, black-clad figure flickered into sight. The figure pulled off a helmet, revealing large mismatched eyes like Artemis's, pointed ears, and short auburn hair.

Captain Holly Short of Section 8, LEP, massaged the tips of her elfin ears with long fingers, never taking her intense stare off Artemis.

"Hello Mud Boy," she said cautiously. He returned the greeting, accompanying it with a small, rare, genuine smile. Holly relaxed somewhat and allowed an answering smile to tug at her lips.

"So, what do you need me to help with?" Artemis inquired, curiosity burning in his steady gaze.

"I honestly don't really know. That's part of why we're coming to you," Holly sighed, pulling out a USB flash drive from her pocket and looking at it with faint distaste and condescension. Artemis exhaled, plucked it from her hand, and quickly powered up his slim laptop, slotting the flash drive into it.

Immediately onscreen a high-resolution satellite image of a portion of Britain popped up. Superimposed over the trees and towns were different colored splotches of varying sizes. Artemis raised an eyebrow at Holly in a silent question.

"These are pockets of magic that came up on a scan," she explained. "Blue means very weak, probably left over from the past, green stronger, and so on until you get to red, which is the strongest it can be."

Artemis's gaze was immediately drawn to the large, bright red circle on the map. Holly grimaced.

"Yep. That's our issue."

"This is not natural," Artemis muttered, finger tracing the smooth, regular line of the circle. "Opal?"

Holly shook her head, lips a grim slash in her face. "Nope, she's secure. And trust me, we aren't falling for that clone trick again anytime soon."

Artemis glanced up from the screen, brows furrowed as a thought occurred to him. "Why haven't you noticed it before?"

"This scan was with a new, much more advanced scanner. Foaly thinks that this spot was purposely meant to be hidden, that's why we missed it before. I guess the new tech overrode whatever was keeping it hidden."

Artemis nodded. It made sense, thought the 'something keeping it hidden' part was a bit worrying. "Have you done any reconnaissance?'

"We sent a team up. They couldn't go past the edge. Got some pretty weird video though." She clicked past the photo on the laptop screen and clicked on the play button for a video clip.

It was the feed from a helmet cam. The wearer swooped down from the sky, alighting upon the short, scrubby grass below. A small map in the corner of the screen showed five green dots- the recon squad- just outside the edge of the huge circle. The agent walked forward cautiously. In the distance, in the center of the circle, was a crumbling, abandoned wreck of a house with the sign DANGER- KEEP OUT prominently displayed outside. The five LEPrecon agents slowly continued walking forward, toward the circle, until they reached the outside edge.

Artemis's eyes widened as they seemed to run into an invisible wall, stopped in their tracks. For a split second when they collided with the unseen obstacle, the empty ruin was gone and in its place was a huge, towering, stone castle perched on a hill above a large lake, with a thick forest on the other side. Then the crumbling house was back.

"Impossible," Artemis murmured, but already his mind was racing to find explanations for the anomaly.

"I guess not," Holly replied. "We tried everything we could think of to get in, but we just couldn't. And the castle never reappeared again."

"So why exactly did you tell me about it?" Artemis finally asked. If there wasn't something they needed him specifically to do- their only human contact- the fairies would have just stayed as far away from him as possible, no matter his I.Q.

Holly avoided his eyes for a moment, then met them resignedly.

"Well, we stationed a small team outside the circle to see if anything went in or came out. Three weeks ago, an empty train arrived. If we hadn't had fixed cameras, we'd have missed it. A strange compulsion came over the team to look the other way and leave. But later, the train came out again. Filled with human children."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I couldn't resist ending here! Anyways, to clear up some timing: The train left at the end of May/beginning of June. Now it is the last week of June. Hogwarts term starts September 1st, so there is one month and one week until then. Yes, Sept 1 is Arty's birthday, but since he's already 14 I'm going to be naughty and just pretend like he skipped a birthday this year or something. I don't own AF or HP.**

Outwardly Artemis remained blank, but inside his mind was racing. He was careful to show no hint of emotion as he steadily met Holly's eyes.

"You've waited three weeks to tell me?"

Holly blushed slightly, which was a very rare thing for Holly to do, though she rallied quickly with a defiant glare.

"Well, there was a ton of red tape to go through, and it took a long time just to convince the commander to let you in on it in the first place. He doesn't trust you as far as he could throw you- which, considering he's three feet tall, probably isn't far at all."

Artemis nodded, fingers drumming on his desk next to his laptop.

"But what specifically do you want me to do?" he asked bluntly, fingers stilling as he directed a piercing stare at Holly along with the question, his stomach briefly clenching as he waited for the reply.

Holly met his stare evenly.

"We want you to try to get in."

Artemis sighed, though he had been expecting something like this. Breaking into somewhere… this was a job more suited for people like Butler or even Mulch. But Butler wouldn't do it without Artemis, and Mulch was not human.

"Are you going to ask for a payment?" Holly asked sarcastically, though she was slightly afraid that he actually would. Artemis had changed, but not that much.

Artemis shook his head.

"No. Consider this a favor to you since you both helped me get my father back, heal my mother, save Butler's life, steal the Cube from Spiro, save my life from Opal, and help me with the demons."

"Well, to be fair, you repayed me already for most of those things."

"Most. Not all. And that's not including the fact that I kidnapped you two years ago and held you captive."

"True. But hey, if you're willing to do it for free, I'm not gonna argue," Holly said, grinning and punching Artemis on the shoulder.

He grimaced and rubbed it.

"Why do you persist in doing that?"

"Because it annoys you."

Frowing and then crossing to the other side of his office, Artemis pushed the radio button for Butler's earpiece.

"Butler! Ready the jet. It seems we are taking a trip to Britain."

When Angeline and Artemis Senior asked him where he was off to, Artemis, with more than a slight twinge of guilt, told them he was flying over to London to visit a friend who had suddenly fallen ill. The guilt was partially because of the lie, but more so because of the slight hint of mesmerhe slipped into his voice when telling it to ensure that his parents would not doubt his alibi.

Outside, Artemis found the jet ready for takeoff, Butler at the controls and Holly reclining in a seat in the back. He gave her a stiff nod and moved to the cockpit to sit in the copilot's seat. He told Butler the details of the situation while they flew.

"I'm coming in with you," Butler rumbled immediately when Artemis was done telling the story. There was a steely determination in his gravelly bass voice that was a result of the three years Artemis had spent lost in time. Butler refused to lose his principal again.

"Of course," Artemis replied readily. He would be glad to have the huge bodyguard at his side when venturing into unknown territory.

Just then Holly stuck her head into the cockpit.

"There's a team waiting for us there. We'll escort you to the edge and wait just outside. Try not to be inside longer than 15 minutes, or we'll assume you've been compromised." She paused to let that statement sink in. "Foaly thinks that electronics won't work inside based on the sheer amount of magic in the circle, which will interrupt the current, so we'll have no way to communicate."

Both Artemis and Butler nodded, exchanging looks when they realized just how much danger they could be headed into. They were essentially going in blind.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Artemis?" Butler asked once Holly left.

"Yes," Artemis said stubbornly. "The fairies have been good friends to us. And I still feel I'm repaying my debt to them," he continued, trying not to think of all the times when he had taken advantage of the fairy race for his own selfish gain.

Butler sighed and kept flying. He was glad Artemis had become a better person, really he was. But sometimes his charge's newfound morals could get him into more trouble than when he was a criminal mastermind. Not that he had stopped all his illegal activities, mind you. Just made them… more tasteful. And justified.

Half an hour later, Holly reappeared in the cockpit.

"We're here," she said simply, directly Butler to a makeshift runway half a mile away from the circle that the LEP had set up in an empty grass field.

When the three friends emerged form the jet, three LEPrecon elves shimmered into view. They saluted Holly and warily eyed the two Mud Men, privately debating to themselves which one was more terrifying- the moving mountain or the vampiric teenager.

"Follow us," one directed nervously, before they all turned and led the way to the outside of the circle, seeming to stop randomly. There was nothing to be seen where the edge of the invisible bubble was, nothing to indicate the magical barrier there. But just like in the video, Artemis could just see the large crumbling house in the distance.

"Be careful," Holly said sincerely, holding first Artemis's and then Butler's eyes until they nodded in acknowledgement.

Artemis took a deep breath and looked up at Butler.

"Ready, old friend?"

"Ready."  
And together they stepped into the circle.

**Next chapter should be up soon, I have three more written already, just have to revise and type 'em up! Please review, and have a wonderful life!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thank you all who followed and favorited, it means a lot to me! Sorry again about the shortness of my chapters, they all just kinda end up the same length. Please review, next chapter should be up very soon. I own neither AF or HP.**

Immediately as they stepped past the boundary there was a strong, almost irresistible urge pulling at their minds to turn back, attend to something else (both found themselves suddenly remembering things they needed to get done) and forget about where they were going and why. Artemis and Butler gritted their teeth, muscles straining against the compulsion as they kept moving slowly toward the empty house and the center of the circle.

Strangely enough, as they pushed on, Artemis could feel the magic he had stolen in the time stream clustering together in the front of his mind and combating the effects of the pull, slowly weakening its hold until it was almost nonexistent, but growing stronger and brighter the further they advanced.

Butler was still struggling, though. Veins stood out in stark relief on his forehead and neck, and his eyes were clenched shut tightly as he kept plowing forward by sheer force of will. Artemis tried to push some of his magic toward him, curious to see if it could help, but it refused to affect the pull on Butler to turn back and Artemis gave up, turning back to the ruin ahead.

_The barrier is meant to keep non-magical beings out, _Artemis realized. But then what about the fairies? They were magical, they just weren't… human.

The barrier is meant to keep out anyone but _magical humans. _

Artemis gasped as the realization hit him, eyes widening in shock. This meant that all those children on the train had magic. And that meant that there were adults. There had been magical humans living on earth for years and no one had any idea of their existence.

But he was distracted from further thought when the scene in front of them flickered, rather like a badly tuned television station will. The rotting house blurred slightly, flickered again, and suddenly disappeared.

In its place stood a castle.

Butler gasped, both at the unexpected transformation and at the relief as the force pressuring him to turn back weakened and vanished as the rotting house did. He didn't think he could have taken it much longer, strong will or no. He was surprised Artemis had made it this far, and with apparent ease too.

The bodyguard shook his head, putting the thought out of his mind for now. Time enough to worry about it later, when they were safe and back at Fowl Manor.

Guardian and charge stood motionless for a good thirty seconds, taking in the massive stone structure ahead.

Then Artemis snapped out of his daze and began walking ahead cautiously across the grass. After a brief pause Butler followed, trying to be as inconspicuous as a man of his huge stature could be sneaking across open ground.

Thankfully, they didn't see anyone outside. The only sign of life was the occasional buzz of insects and two owls, which flew to one of the castle towers and disappeared inside. Artemis frowned. Owls in broad daylight?

The pair skirted the edge of the dark, forbidding forest, some instinct warning them to steer clear of the thick trees. They passed a squat, shabby hut at the periphery of the trees, which seemed empty too, and climbed up a long, grassy hill until they arrived at a wooden door leading into the castle.

Butler tested the door. Locked. He grunted and rammed it with his broad shoulder, catching it as it flew open before it could hit the stone wall and make a noise that would alert whoever was in this castle, wherever they were. It seemed almost deserted.

Artemis and Butler crept into the empty hallway and entered the first room they came upon, Butler going in first and searching it to make sure that no one was already in there before Artemis entered too.

The room had not been used in a while, judging from the dust, but was set up like a classroom, complete with desks, blackboard, and bookshelves along one wall. Artemis made a beeline for the shelves and began examining the titles on the spines.

_Hogwarts, a History. The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4. One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. A History of Magic._

Artemis had pulled these off the shelf, frowning, utterly nonplussed, when Butler (who had stationed himself in the doorway) hissed a warning to the boy.

"Someone's coming!"

Artemis managed to grab three more books and gather up the entire pile in his arms before Butler grabbed him, slung him underneath his arm facing backward, and ran out of the room. Artemis looked down the hallway, deeper into the castle, and saw a tall person approaching, clad in long black robes and a tall pointy hat, like a Halloween witch (which made Artemis raise his eyebrows, even in the middle of being bounced around under Butler's arm). The figure froze in alarm, almost comically, before whipping out a long, thin wooden stick from their robes and pointing it at the fleeing pair.

"Stupefy!" The figure shrieked, and Artemis saw a red jet of light issue from the end of the stick, streak towards them, and narrowly miss Artemis's head before slamming into the wall and shattering several stones.

The figure seemed about to try again, but Butler reached the door and barged outside, sprinting down the hill and away from the castle in the direction from which they had come. Artemis bounced under his arm silently the whole way, still limp and silent with shock at what he had seen.

As he watched from his position facing backwards, Artemis saw the castle flicker and turn again into the old, rotting house, and felt Butler's pace increase even more as the pull returned, but this time his magic was even quicker to mute it inside his head.

Then they were out of the circle and Holly and the other elves were there, barraging them with questions, their faces a mix of concern, excitement, impatience, and curiosity.

Butler stopped running, deposited Artemis on his feet, then took the books from his principal. Artemis brushed his suit off, trying to still look dignified, nodded to the elves, gave Holly a significant look, and promptly walked off to head to the jet. Holly and Butler soon followed, leaving three very curious, very puzzled LEP agents standing on the grass behind them.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Sorry for the late update! What can I say, I'm a huge procrastinator. But anyways, hope you guys like it. Please review? Just one tiny review? Saying that you don't absolutely hate this? I promise it'll make me write faster.**

**Don't own Artemis Fowl or Harry Potter.**

"What in the world..?" Holly muttered as she stared at the seven bizarre books laid out before her on the desk in Artemis's office.

After recounting what had happened to Holly (Artemis excluded the part about his magic acting up) and then relaying it to Foaly, they were back at Fowl Manor and genius, fairy, and bodyguard alike were utterly baffled.

Along with the four books Artemis had looked at, he had managed to grab three more: _Magical Drafts and Potions, Intermediate Transfiguration, _and _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection._

Holly looked up at Artemis with raised eyebrows and a look that clearly said, _is this a joke or what?_

Artemis spread his arms in a helpless gesture, hating his lack of knowledge but unable to do anything to improve it- for now.

"I know as much as you do," he said, moving closer to the desk and scrutinizing the books again. "But give me a week and I'll know more," he promised, tapping the cover of one of the books.

Holly nodded slowly, already thinking of what she could say to convince Trouble to give her yet another surface visa.

"Well, I should probably go report," she said, a bit awkwardly, glancing at her wrist computer. "Take care of yourself, Mud Boy. I'll be back in a week." Holly punched his shoulder, opened the window, and flickered out of view.

Artemis sighed slightly, locked the books in a small concealed safe, and wearily descended the stairs to go greet his family and tell them all about his imaginary friend's illness.

One week later Holly entered Artemis's office, looking around at the mess of paper and pens all over, quite uncharacteristic for the neat Artemis.

The boy stood from his desk, rushed over to her, and thrust a thick file into her hands before motioning for her to sit and sitting down himself on the edge of a chair opposite her, knee bobbing up and down restlessly.

"That holds copies of all of my notes from the books," he explained, motioning toward the bulging file Holly held. "Let me just say, you are in for a shock." He settled somewhat as Holly opened the file, her eyes narrowing apprehensively. A hint of a smirk slid over his face as he watched her brow furrow, then her eyes widen and her gaze flick up to his face.

"Well, crazy as it might sound, it seems there is an extensive network of magical humans existing right underneath not only regular humans' but the People's noses too," Artemis said bluntly.

"But… that's- that's impossible? Humans with magic? And undetected by anyone?" Holly said feebly.

"Apparently not impossible. They call themselves, of all things, witches and wizards." Here he let out a faint snort. "They use wands and incantations to channel their magic and cast spells, and have no knowledge of the People, and neither is their brand of magic the same as fairy magic," Artemis said, throwing out facts casually to a stunned Holly. He tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair as he watched Holly and waited for her inevitable questions.

She sat quietly, eyes wide, immobile, for a moment, digesting this groundbreaking information before speaking.

"So the circle-"

"Is a school to educate magical children. The largest in Europe. Apparently titled Hogwarts." He shuddered slightly.

Artemis stood up suddenly and paced over to his desk restlessly.

"All the information you need is inside the file," he said dismissively. He wouldn't have been so cold to Holly, but all his attention was focused on an idea coming together in his mind and he was not in the mood for distractions.

Holly nodded, still dazed, and left without a good-bye.

After she left, Artemis stood for a long time at his desk, eyes closed, thinking.

Planning.

Two days after Artemis dropped his bombshell on the People, when the call lit up his screens, Foaly was not surprised. He had been expecting this ever since Holly gave him that folder.

"Accept," Foaly said resignedly, then waited until Artemis Fowl's pale, sharp, impassive face filled the screen in front of him.

"Hello, Foaly."

"Hello yourself, Mud Boy," the centaur grunted, leaning back in his chair and crossing his hands in front of his chest.

"So, what do you think?" Artemis asked, cutting straight to the point, as he was wont to do.

"Honestly? I don't know _what _to think," Foaly sighed, rubbing his face wearily. When he had first read over Fowl's notes, he though it must be a huge, elaborate joke. But then he searched for evidence- magic scans, maps, old news stories… everywhere you looked hard enough there were tiny scraps of evidence supporting his crazy idea of magical humans.

"Have you thought about their potential threat?" Artemis asked frankly, his mismatched eyes boring into Foaly's. "We have no idea how they would react if they discovered the People's existence. Or if they could pose a distinct menace if they did."

Foaly frowned, eyes sliding away from Artemis. This was a serious problem he had been wrestling with since he had learned about the magical humans.

"What can we do about it, though?" Foaly asked slowly, almost afraid to say it, and feeling justified when a cold vampiric smile spread over Artemis's face.

"We send in a spy."

Foaly opened his mouth to protest when a thought suddenly occurred to him. He choked on air and coughed, his face paling.

"Are you suggesting-"

"Yes."

"You cannot be serious. After _everything _you've done, you want us to trust you with this?" Foaly almost laughed, but the steel in Artemis's eyes made him think otherwise.

"I am your only viable option," Artemis smirked. He knew that the centaur would have no option but to agree to his plan.

"The Council is going to _kill_ me," Foaly groaned when he reached the same conclusion.

"I'll expect a reply in three days," Artemis said smugly before cancelling the link and vanishing from the screen.

"Gods help us all," Foaly muttered darkly. "Artemis Fowl, magical spy."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry this is so short, it was part of a larger chapter but this is all I can get up for now. Sorry also for the lateness, I had a retreat this weekend (the weekend is when I type). **

**Thank you to my three reviewers! You guys made my day!**

**Don't own either series.**

Three days later, after lots of red tape and many protests, it was official. Artemis Fowl would infiltrate the wizarding society to determine if there was any threat to the People and overall gain as much information as possible for the fairy files.

This infiltration would take the form of attending the school Hogwarts as a student whose magic had developed later than usual.

"That could be a problem," Foaly had mused during his reply call to Artemis. "I don't know if we can force magic into a human's system, let alone if it would be harmless. You could end up with some serious issues."

"Well, you might not have to…" Artemis said quietly, looking down guiltily.

Foaly groaned. "You didn't lose your magic, did you?"

"No. If No1 simply strengthens it, I should be well off, so long as I refresh it every month at the full moon. I should be able to direct the flow of magic through a wand to make it appear as if I posses the particular brand of magic that wizards do, rather than fairy magic."

And so, that was why now, two days later, Artemis opened the back door of Fowl Manor to admit a small, grinning boy wearing a garish orange mumu. Without a word, Artemis motioned him inside, led him to his office, and shut the door behind them. A squadron of LEP materialized around the small boy and retreated a few feet. The boy shimmered and was suddenly replaced with a squat, scaly, gray creature with the same grin.

No1 rushed forward and hugged Artemis, who awkwardly patted him on the back a few times after a startled pause. The small demon warlock let him go and beamed up at the boy genius.

"Hello, Artemis!"

"Hello, No1," Artemis replied with a tiny, fleeting smile. "Are you ready?"

"Yep," the demon replied, flexing his fingers. "Are you?"

"Yes," Artemis said, his calm voice betraying none of the excitement and nerves he felt inside. "Just tell me what to do."

"First, sit down," No1 directed, and Artemis obliged, settling in an armchair. The demon put his scaly hands on either side of Artemis's head and looked into the boy's eyes with his orange gaze.

"I'll be feeding magic to the bits you have left over from the time tunnel," he explained. "I don't know exactly how long it'll take, or how long it will feel like to you. If it's too much at any point, tell me and I'll stop the flow."

Artemis nodded in acknowledgement and took a deep breath.

"You may begin."

The spiral rune on the warlock's forehead glowed and began to spin. To Artemis, it seemed like a curtain of multicolored light expanded from it and enveloped him, cutting off all sight and sounds for him and bringing with it whispering voices, voices that told him of the fairies and their past and their long, tragic history. Artemis gasped as the magic inside his mind flared up at the contact.

A strand of brighter light began to form inside the cocoon that surrounded him, a writhing snake of magic that thickened and lengthened as more power was fed into it. The white, glowing strand suddenly lunged forward, into Artemis, feeding into his magic, which steadily became brighter, stronger, and multiplied until he was full of magic and the strand was exhausted.

No1 released Artemis. The cocoon vanished. Artemis slumped in his chair, body buzzing and thrumming with energy, eyes wide and glowing faintly blue for a moment.

Artemis had never felt so alive in his life. He couldn't believe he had gone his whole life without magic. It felt natural, like a part of him.

"Go on, give it a go," No1 encouraged.

Artemis nodded, concentrated, and flickered into invisibility. He grinned in delight as he unshielded it.

"It worked," he marveled. "I'm magical."

The LEP officers standing against the wall felt a shiver run down their spine at his words.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: To make up for the short one yesterday, here's an extra-long chapter (but only by a few hundred words). Artemis should be making it to Hogwarts in the next few chapters! More on that later.**

**Thanks to my reviewers, you guys rock, and especially to darkmickeyangel, who reviewed not once, but twice! They deserve candy. And love. **

**I don't own anything!**

"So, what's next, magic boy?" Holly asked the day after No1 visited, spinning in Artemis's swivel chair, an action that made his eyes narrow in annoyance (which, of course, was why she was doing it in the first place).

"Now that I possess magic, the second step is to acquire the supplies I will need to attend Hogwarts," Artemis replied coolly, tossing her a scrap of paper with directions on it. "Apparently magical items can be purchased at a place called Diagon Alley, which is incongruously hidden in the middle of London. Somehow, the muggles haven't found it yet.

Holly raised her eyebrows skeptically at the directions on the paper.

"The Leaky Cauldron- what kind of name is that? In the alley out back… oh, very classy, that is. Tap these particular bricks with your wand and a doorway will open?" She snorted and looked up at Artemis. "This had better work, Mud Boy. Anyway, I assume I'm coming along?"

Artemis nodded as he skimmed through his large file of notes.

"Yes. You'll fly above me and Butler, shielded of course, and act as a guard and information gatherer. The magic isn't nearly as strong as it is at Hogwarts, and Foaly has provided me with a helmet built with more than the usual amount of magic involved, so it should work for you. You'll be able to communicate with him and record video feed," he finished, motioning toward an object in the corner of his office, which Holly crossed over to.

It seemed like a typical LEP helmet. She hoped it would work as Foaly said it would as she tucked it under her arm and made her way back to Artemis, still flipping through his notes.

Finding what he had been searching for, Artemis triumphantly pulled out a sheet of paper with notes on Diagon Alley and supplies Hogwarts students typically required. He folded the paper meticulously, placed it in the pocket of his suit, and flashed Holly a brief smile, eager despite himself for their outing.

"Ready to go shopping?" he asked, reflecting inwardly that this wasn't a sentence he thought he would ever utter, much less with suppressed excitement in his voice.

* * *

Butler had the jet ready for them outside. Once they were in the air, Holly leaned forward in her seat facing Artemis, the question burning in her mind as it had been since she had heard that Artemis was magical.

"So tell me, genius, how did No1 manage to force magic into your Mud Person system?"

Artemis actually flinched, his throat suddenly dry as he averted his eyes from Holly.

Holly narrowed her eyes suspiciously at his reaction.

"Holly…" Artemis began, finally meeting her gaze with his own guilt-filled eyes. He hated himself at that moment, a rare emotion for the young genius. He had lied to Holly, one of his few friends- again. How many times could he keep doing this? And would this be the time that it broke their fragile friendship entirely?

"No…" Holly whispered, her stomach lurching unpleasantly. "You didn't…"

She scanned Artemis's face, and her heart sank at what she saw there.

"You didn't lose all your magic."

It was a blank, quiet, emotionless statement, but the betrayal and anger burning in the captain's eyes was all too clear.

"No, I didn't," Artemis sighed. "I knew that if the People were aware of my magic, they would take it away. Rip it out. And possibly mindwipe me, no matter that I'd earned my memories back." His hands rubbed his pants legs nervously, unconscious of the wrinkles they caused. "All No1 had to do was build up what was already there."

"And you couldn't tell just me?" Holly asked quietly, completely still in her seat.

"I didn't wish to put you in a difficult situation. You would have been torn between keeping my secret and telling your superiors."

It made sense, Holly knew. It was logical. But that didn't change the fact that Artemis had lied to her.

She stood up abruptly from her seat and stalked stiffly toward the back of the plane. Artemis let her go. He knew that if he went after her now, before she had time to cool down, Holly would probably punch him.

The boy genius slumped in his seat slightly, and sat in silent self-loathing for a minute before taking a deep breath and pulling his cell phone out from his pocket. There was something he had to take care of.

Artemis punched in a number and listened to the phone dial and ring twice before someone picked up.

"Arty?" Angeline Fowl said worriedly. "Is that you? Is everything alright? How are you?"

"I'm fine, mother," he replied, keeping his sudden weariness and pain out of his voice.

"You always sound so formal," his mother fretted. "Why never just a nice 'mum'? But why are you calling, dear? Is it your friend?"

Before he had left again in the jet, Artemis had told his paretns that his 'friend's' condition had worsened, and he was going to London to assist in any way possible.

"Oh no, he's fine. Much improved, actually," Artemis said quietly, feeling guiltier at each lie that dropped so easily from his lips.

"Then what is it, Arty?" The genuine concern and love in his mother's voice made him feel even worse.

"I've received an offer to attend an illustrious private boarding school here, in Britain."

"Oh. That's… that's wonderful, dear," Her voice faltered. "But isn't there somewhere you'd like to go a little closer to home? You just came back…" She trailed off, as she tended to do on the topic of Artemis's disappearance, the _mesmer_ he had used fogging her brain.

"It's a state-of-the-art facility. And there is Christmas break after all. And the summer holidays..." Artemis said weakly. "I want to do this, Mother."

The sadness in his mother's voice almost made Artemis break down and tell her he didn't want to go after all and scrap the entire plan.

"If you're sure then, Arty."

"I am."

"I'll tell your father, I suppose. Be sure to send us more information on this school."

"I shall."

"I love you, Arty."

"I know, Moth- Mum."

"See, isn't that better?"

Artemis smiled slightly as he hung up, stretched his arms above his head exhaustedly, and pulled out his laptop to begin the long process of fabricating a boarding school.

* * *

"I don't see anything." Butler observed succinctly, discreetly observing the old, boarded-up building out of the corner of his eye, keeping his main focus on the people passing them on the street.

"Trust me, this is it," Artemis said firmly. With his magic, he could see that the old building was in fact a small inn. A rusty sign hanging rather crookedly over the doorway read "The Leaky Cauldron".

Artemis pushed the door open. Butler entered first, then Artemis followed, leaving the door open long enough for the invisible Holly to enter as well before letting it swing shut.

Unsurprisingly, he and Butler were being curiously regarded by the customers inside the small, cozy inn. Witches and wizards might be used to odd-looking people, but a man whose head brushed the ceiling and who looked like he was half-troll, accompanied by a slightly built, pale, black-aired, suited teenager were unusual even by their standards.

Completely unruffled by the attention, Artemis nodded slightly at the innkeeper and weaved his way around the tables until he reached the back door and vanished into the alleyway behind it. Butler followed him closely, casting dark glances at anyone who happened to be too close to Artemis's path or who muttered too loudly or stared too openly. The unfortunate recipients of this death look shrank back in their chairs, chills washing over them.

Once they were all outside in the alley, Artemis regarded the solid brick wall in front of him with a slight frown.

"Usually a professor from the school accompanies wandless students so they can use their own wand to tap the bricks, but we do not seem to be in possession of a wand or a teacher," He mused serenely.

"You mention this _now?!"_ Holly's voice hissed angrily, the first time she'd spoken to him since the plane ride confessioin.

"Calm yourself," Artemis stated coolly. "I've formulated a simple plan that I believe should be successful," he said with a minute smirk, holding out his index finger in front of him almost indolently.

Artemis concentrated, marshalling his magic into a single small clump and directing it to the tip of his finger, which began to glow softly blue. He precisely tapped a few choice bricks with this finger, than let the magic fade again.

The bricks in the wall began to move, separating to reveal an archway in the previously solid barrier. Artemis let out a tiny inward sigh of relief. He'd never let Holly or Butler know, but he hadn't been completely certain that his improvisation would work. But it had, and that was what mattered.

All thoughts drained out of Artemis's mind when the archway was complete.

Though they had seen many impossible things in their escapades together, and had been expecting something extraordinary, when the archway opened fully and the scene in front of them was revealed, all three friends gasped.

The sunny, narrow, cobbled street was lined with tall, haphazard buildings and colorful booths. People clad in long robes in every hue possible packed the street, many laden with large, bulging bags from their purchases. Some stores had their wares set out in front of their buildings; there were owls and other animals at one spot, cauldrons, robes, hats, books, feather quills, candies, and prank materials could be seen all down the street. The warm air was filled with a mishmash of scents and the loud chatter of magical people going about their business.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Artemis said, rather smugly, as Butler and the shielded Holly remained frozen in wonder. Butler shook himself out of his stupor as Artemis stepped forward and followed his charge into the thick of the crowd.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Here Artemis gets some more immersion in the Wizarding World! This chapter was just typed instead of written on paper and then typed and edited, so see if you can tell a difference in the writing. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews, follows, and faves! If any of you want to know the answers to any questions you have, please feel free to ask. Artemis should be enrolling next chapter and term will start the chapter after that most likely.**

**I don't own either AF or HP!**

Butler followed on Artemis's heels, his towering frame and menacing presence creating an opening in the thick crowd around the pair like a bubble. Artemis calmly strode down the street, taking in the various names of the shops and memorizing them for future reference. He was also listening to the crowd's conversation, and heard the words 'Quidditch World Cup' and 'Death Eaters' mentioned often.

Having read about both the sport and the supposedly disbanded group of terrorists, he was understandably curious. The pale teenager turned towards a stall on the sidewalk that was selling newspapers and muttered,

"Holly. Can you get me a paper?" He would have purchased one himself, but unfortunately they hadn't traded in their Euros for wizard currency yet. He heard a tiny sigh, and ten seconds later a newspaper appeared on the ground in front of him. He bent over and picked it up, surprised to see at first glance that the pictures seemed to move.

When he moved his gaze to the headline, he was alarmed to see the words 'The Dark Mark Returns'. In his reading, he had learned how the Dark Mark was a spell performed to send a sign into the sky after a killing had been carried out by the Death Eaters, and was a sign of terror and also of Voldemort, the dark wizard who had supposedly died fourteen years ago.

After scanning the article, Artemis tucked it into his suit and continued down the street, mildly disturbed. Maybe there was, in fact, a valid threat to the People. If Voldemort came back… the death and destruction would be catastrophic.

He shook his thoughts off when he saw a sign proclaiming 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'. Artemis decided he might as well get fitted now for his school robes and stepped into the shop.

Madam Malkin was a friendly witch who bustled around Artemis as she fitted him for his robes, chatting cheerily, her enthusiasm not dampening by the icy, abrupt nature of Artemis's answers.

"So what will you be ordering today?"

"Three sets of plain black work robes, two winter cloaks, and a set of formal robes."

"Ah, Hogwarts then?"

"Yes."

"I haven't seen you before, but you're too old for a first year,"

"My magic developed late."

"Really? How peculiar! Do you know what year you'll be entering?"

"No." He winced as a pin stuck his arm.

"Well, that should be about it," she said, shooing him off the fitting platform. "I'll have them ready in twenty minutes or so."

"We'll pick them up then and pay," Artemis said before stalking out of the shop.

* * *

Their next stop was Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

Artemis liked the old, statuesque, marble building and appreciated the architecture and craftsmanship as he strode into the bank. He went straight to the back of the hall, not showing any sign of discomposure at the strange creatures that gave him dark looks as he passed. Wizards called them goblins, but they were very different from the fire-breathing, scaly, dimwitted version he was acquainted with.

"Yes?" The goblin at the tallest desk hissed when he halted in front of it.

"I wish to exchange Euros for wizarding currency," Artemis stated.

"How much will you want to convert it into?"

"5000 galleons' worth, a third of it in sickles and one fifth in knuts," Artemis said calmly. The goblin's shadowy gaze intensified at the amount he threw out so casually.

"Will you want to rent a vault for that?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then the total amount will be 5 million Euros." The goblin grinned nastily, exposing sharp teeth, awaiting the boy's reaction to the huge amount.

"Very well," Artemis said briskly, taking out his wallet and quickly counting out the right amount before giving it to the goblin, who sat, stunned, for a moment before taking the thick wad of bills.

"You are vault number 456," he muttered darkly, handing Artemis a large key. "Thank you for your business."

After a brief trip to the vault, Artemis and Butler emerged from the bank with more than enough money for the rest of their trip.

"Books next, I think," Artemis directed before making his way to a nearby shop, Flourish and Blotts.

* * *

Many of the books required for Hogwarts students were amont the seven Artemis had stolen, so he had to purchase less than he thought.

_Magical Theory, __Magical Drafts and Potions, __Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, __Numerology and Grammatica _were the only ones he had to buy to meet the requirements for the supply list he had memorized.

When they emerged from the shop with the books in Butler's arms, Artemis picked up his robes from Madam Malkin's (which also went to Butler).

He purchased potion ingredients and equipment and was headed down the street to the wand shop when he passed by a storefront and felt a prickling on the back of his neck, like someone was watching him.

Or some_thing, _he thought when he turned to see a large, white barn owl's black gaze drilling into him.

"Butler, wouldn't it be useful to have a foolproof method of communication?"

"Yes," Butler grunted, shifting the bags in his arms.

"So I thought," Artemis said, striding into Eeylops Owl Emporium.

He left with the white owl in a cage under Butler's already overloaded arm.

Butler sighed and trudged after Artemis toward the small, rather forlorn shop with the sign "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C." hanging above the doorway. In the cobwebbed window was a shabby display of a single wand lying on a dusty purple cushion. Artemis exchanged a dubious glance with Butler before pushing open the door.

Inside was a small, dusty reception area, a desk, and behind that shelves of long, narrow boxes stacked up to the ceiling a bit precariously. Artemis rang a small bell on the desk and waited calmly until a wraith-like old man appeared suddenly from the back, his wide, pale eyes almost staring straight through Artemis before focusing on his customer.

"Welcome, welcome, to Ollivander's. I assume you are here for a wand? But you are too old... well, no matter, the wand chooses the wizard..." and with that, he disappeared back into the shelves, and they could hear muttering as he slid wand boxes off the shelves, returning with a tall stack of wands.

"Wave each wand, we'll know if it's right," he told Artemis, who did as he said, feeling rather foolish.

Hazel, unicorn hair, 12 inches. A puff of acrid smoke.

Walnut, pheonix feather, 10 1/2 inches. A row of boxes fly off the shelves.

Yew, dragon heartstring, 14 inches. A glass shatters violently.

And so on, more and more disasters occurring as Ollivander bustled around, muttering to himself as he picked out more and more wands.

Finally a huge pile of discarded wands lay on the floor and broken things lay all over the shop. Ollivander stood thoughtfully in the midst of the chaos, frowning and scratching his head, before slowly crossing to a back corner of the room and drawing out an extremely dusty, old-fashioned box.

"Highly unusual... hm, but I wonder..." He muttered before carefully presenting the box to Artemis. "Elder wood, dragon heartstring core, 13 inches, slightly springy. Elder wood is very rare, and it takes a remarkable wizard to wield an elder wand. But those who can are marked out for a special destiny."

Artemis took the wand and cautiously swished it in the air, as he had been doing for the past hour. But this time, nothing bad happened.

A huge wave of warmth ran through his body. His magic brightened and stirred in his mind, and the wand began to shoot off warm, bright jets of blue, green, and amber light.

"Yes, yes, that's it!" Ollivander said excitedly. "You have very powerful magic, Artemis Fowl."

Artemis looked at the man oddly. He hadn't told him his name had he? The boy paid and left quickly, pocketing his new wand.

"Let's get back to our hotel," Artemis said, tired and needing some time to think over what he had seen that day.


	8. Note

**Sorry this isn't an actual chapter, but I just have some things to say and ask:**

**- First off, thank you again to everyone reading, following, favoriting, and especially reviewing this. You guys rock!**

**- Secondly, I have two scenarios in mind for Artemis getting on the student list for Hogwarts, and I'd like you to review and tell me which one you would like to see.**

**Option One: Artemis and Butler visit Hogwarts again and have a talk with the Headmaster.**

**Option Two: Artemis performs enough magic for Hogwarts to notice him and send him a letter.**

**After both Artemis will be taking a few tests and exams to place him in a year.**

**- Also, what House do you think Artemis should be in? Logically he would go straight to Slytherin, but I'm thinking about placing him in Gryffindor so he can be more involved with the main storyline of the book. Say, since he's there to figure out threats to the fairies, he's worried about Voldemort and heard of Harry's history so asks the Sorting Hat to be in Gryffindor so he can find out more?**

**I think that's all for now!**

**Next chapter should be up within a week!**


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: Everyone who reviewed, thank you. I love you. Feel the love.**

**I'm going to be going with option two, and also probably sticking Arty in Slytherin, but he'll still have lots of interaction with the Golden Trio! Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter (don't worry, more action and book plot in the next few chapters, plus a surprise I'm very, very excited for!)**

**If you think I'm Eoin Colfer or JK Rowling, think again.**

**And as always, please, _please _review! I live off them.**

**EDIT: Thanks to a great suggestion/review by Amadan, I've edited the section where Artemis is trying out spells. **

**Also, I added a brief aside at the end where Artemis says goodbye to Butler instead of just kind of leaving randomly.**

Once the trio was back at the inordinately expensive hotel and in the luxurious room they had rented, Holly unshielded, still shell-shocked at all the seemingly improbable things she had seen that day.

With a slight groan, Butler deposited his huge armful of books, robes, potion ingredients, equipment, and a ruffled owl onto a large wooden table, staring at the odd display it made strewn across the polished surface.

"Thank you, Butler," Artemis muttered as he carefully sorted and organized his purchases, ensuring that everything he needed was there.

When he had, he turned to Holly, who had collapsed in an armchair, exhausted from her extended shielding. She pulled off her helmet.

"Did you get the video feed?" He asked carefully, not sure if she was still angry at him or not.

"Yes," Holly said curtly, tapping her helmet. "Foaly's helmet worked exactly as promised."

"Good," Artemis said, hearing the coldness in her voice and turning away from her again to begin packing his supplies into bags, leaving out the books he wanted to read and his wand.

"How are you going to enroll there?" Holly asked, curiosity creeping into her voice despite herself.

"Usually the Ministry of Magic tracks magic occurances. If a child possesses magic, he or she will perform magical acts before the age of eleven as the magic begins to manifest itself. They send a list of these children to Hogwarts, which then sents letters inviting them to school. If the child is born into a non-magical househould, or in unusual cases, a teacher from the school will visit the home. If I perform enough magical acts, the Ministry will take notice and notify Hogwarts, which will hopefully accept me into their school."

Holly nodded shortly, returning her gaze to her helmet.

"Well, I should be off. Keep in touch with us," she said, standing up from her chair and putting on her helmet. "See you soon, Mud Boy," Holly murmured before shielding, opening the window, and flying into the gathering dusk.

Artemis felt a tiny kernel of warmth and hope for their friendship lodge into his heart at the familiar nickname and suppressed a smile before picking up a book and throwing his focus into learning as much as he could about the strange world he was about to plunge headlong into.

* * *

"So what exactly are you planning to do, Artemis?" Butler asked, eyeing the wand in his charge's slim fingers.

Artemis gave Butler his trademark vampire smile, the tip of the wand beginning to glow blue. "Practice."

Then he switched his attention to his magic and focused on channeling it through the wand. A shower of blue sparks showered out of the end of the wand, and he nodded, pleased, before calling up a mental list of the various spells he had memorized from his readings.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Artemis said as he pushed his magic through the wand and directed it toward a book on the table, which shakily floated up a few feet. He let it drop, knowing that even though he succeded this time the levitation spell was very simple and often one of the first ones taught to students.

Butler watched, fascinated and just a bit afraid.

A flurry of spells followed as Artemis tried to advance.

"Lumos!" A tiny glow at the end of the wand. Artemis frowned and repeated the spell, shoving more magic into the wand until it glowed brighter. Then he extuingished it.

"Accio Book!" He tried next. A book shivered slighltly, and it took more tries until the book moved more than an inch. Surprisingly, Artemis actually managed to catch the heavy tome flying at him.

"Aguamenti!" It was a rather large step, but by now Artemis's confidence was growing. However, to his chagrin, only a few drops of water feebly dripped from his wand. "Aguamenti!" He said again, and a tiny stream of water came out. It took five more tried until a full gush of water flowed out from the end of his wand, soaking the plush carpet.

And on and on, the spells getting more and more complicated, Artemis having trouble with many and some taking up to half an hour to perform adequately. A slight scowl of concentration remained on Artemis's face, the result of having to channel his magic into his wand every time he performed a spell. This made spells take more focus than it took wizards, but luckily it would make non-verbal spells easier as he relied less on the incantation, which simply focused his magic into one task.

Nearly three hours later, Artemis remembered an unusual, rather advanced spell that didn't involve just words and magic, but something else as well.

"Expecto Patronum!" He said firmly, concentration on the memory of his first sucessful bank robbery.

Nothing.

He repeated it, this time thinking of the time his father congratulated him for adding two million Euros to the family fortune when he was eight.

Nothing.

Artemis continued cycling through memories, but none were effective. He scowled, frustrated, forty-five minutes later, having failed to produce anything close to the Patronuses he had read about or even anything like a silvery glow. Suddenly he remembered a different kind of memory. It had nothing to do with money, or power, but rather friendship.

_You saved my life._

_It never happened._

The absolute euphoria when he realized that Holly wasn't dead, that they would both make it home from Hybras after all.

"Expecto Patronum!" A slight silver glow emanated from his wand. Artemis smiled and tried again, concentrating even harder on the memory, remembering the brightness of Holly's eyes and her whole, intact suit, not stained with blood or torn with a sword as it had been. Now a dome-like glow formed, stronger and brighter than before. Artemis kept trying, slipping more memories in. The first time he spoke to his father after recovering him in the Arctic. When his mother had been cured from her madness and depression by Holly. When Holly brought Butler back from the dead.

One last time.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A silver-blue-white form burst from the end of his wand, startling Butler, who stood up suddenly, warily watching the thing bound around the room.

"What is it?" He asked, recognizing a vaguely canine shape.

"Coyote. ___Canis latrans,"_ Artemis said, his mismatched eyes following the lithe shape. "It is my Patronus, a representation of my personality and soul. They defend against Dementors, a creature that feed on a person's happiness."

Artemis lowered the wand, letting the glowing coyote fade as there came a tap on the window. He turned to see a large brown owl waiting to be let in.

"That was quick," Artemis said, despite the fact that it had been roughly four hours since he had begun practicing magic. There was a lot of red tape to get through, though. Artemis remained completely unruffled as he opened the latch and the owl held out a leg to him after hopping inside, which a letter was attached to.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Mr. Fowl,

We have been informed that you have developed magic late, but are neverthless pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. Please come to Hogwarts one week early so we can test you and decide which grade to place you in. In exactly one week at one o' clock PM a teacher will arrive at your residence to transport you to the school.

We await your owl before then.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

* * *

One week later, Artemis was sitting in a chair and Butler standing restlessly behind him when there was a tentative knock on the door. Butler quickly opened it.

A tall, severe-looking woman with spectacles and hair pulled back tightly into a bun, clad in black clothes, stepped into his hotel room, her sharp gaze settling on Artemis reclining serenely in the chair.

He stood up and held out a hand.

"I am Artemis Fowl the Second," he introduced himself formally. The woman took his hand and shook it cautiously.

"Professor Minerva McGonagall," she said, glancing at the bags by the door. "You're already packed?"

"I took the liberty of stopping at Diagon Alley, so we can go straight to the school," Artemis said in a bored tone. "But I have one question."

McGonagall raised her eyebrows, wary of this pale, cold teenager who spoke like an adult.

"Is my bodyguard, Butler, permitted come with me?"

She sighed, trying not to look at the hulking figure in the corner of her vision.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid you cannot. Though I can assure you that no outside threats will affect you at Hogwarts."

Artemis nodded. He had expected nothing less.

"May I have a moment to say farewell?" Artemis asked. When the professor nodded, he drew Butler aside to a corner of the room.

"I don't like it, Artemis," Butler said bluntly, his eyes dark at the thought being separated from his principal again.

"I know, old friend, but we have no choice. I will keep in touch with you through owl mail. If my theories are correct, however, I have a plan that may allow you to be closer to me in the case of an emergency. Don't ask now, though. I'll tell you when it's ready."

Butler nodded reluctantly. Though he hated to let Artemis go to this school alone, he trusted him and felt reassured at the prospect of this mysterious plan.

"Take care, Artemis."

"You as well."

Artemis walked back to the professor.

"Let us go."

"Grab my elbow," she instructed. "I am going to Apparate us to just outside campus. The first time-"

"Can cause nausea and occasionally blackouts. I realize the risks," Artemis said bluntly.

She blinked. "Very well then."

The boy grasped her elbow, and a moment of darkness and pressure later, they stood on the moor outside Hogwart's boundaries.

"You may experience slight discomfort as you pass through the barrier, but that will soon pass," the professor said before striding forward, the pale teenager beside her.

Remarkably, the boy showed no sign of discomposure as they passed through, an unfathomable expression on his face that never wavered once. When they emerged onto the driveway in front of the massive gates, he took in the enormous castle without a hint of surprise or shock, unlike every other student she had ever seen. A chill went down McGonagall's spine as the boy turned his strangely intense gaze on her.

She looked away and led the way into the castle and through the empty hallways up to the gargoyle guarding the entry to the headmaster's office.

She spoke the password and ushered Artemis up the stairs. "Knock before you go in. Dumbledore is waiting for you. He'll send someone to escort you to a temporary room when you're done talking," she explained.

Artemis nodded and unhesitatantly went up the stairs to Dumbledore's office.

McGonagall gazed after the boy for a second, frowning. He was a strange one, all right.

But he reminded her of someone.

That someone had turned out to be the Darkest wizard of all time.

**Well, this was going to be longer, but I have to stop typing now and want to give you guys an update, so here you go!**

**Again: review. Please.**


	10. Chapter 9

**AN: You guys might want to check out the new and improved chapter before this if you haven't already!**

**As always, I love everyone who reviewed! Please continue, you guys make my day c:**

**Special thanks to: A Stranger 0.0 (your review made me unreasonably unhappy)**

**IceTaloned Frayfu (thank you!)**

**darkmickyangel (you are my favorite. you've reviewed... three times now?)**

**Amadan (thank you so much for pointing that out)**

**Anyways, should be starting the school year in the next chapter. I promise. **

**Oh, and longest chapter yet. That means extra reviews, right? (shhhhh. I'm not addicted). **

**Don't own anything. **

Artemis took a breath and arranged his features into a careful mask of confidence and self-assurance before knocking on the solid door of the headmaster's office. A kindly voice told him to come in. The teen stepped into the office, not letting any expression flicker across his face at the strange sight that greeted his mismatched eyes.

A large room with a desk at the center, many shelves and cabinets around the walls cluttered with strange knick knacks that quietly whirred and hummed. Near the desk was a golden perch with a fiery colored, strange bird perched on it, which examined Artemis with sharp eyes, rather like the occupant of the desk was.

A tall, thin man clad in purple and blue robes, with a long silver beard trailing down his chest, and half-moon spectacles perched on a crooked nose. Piercing blue eyes surveyed Artemis shrewdly, but there was a light of kindness in them

"Ah, you must be our new student. Artemis Fowl II, correct?" The headmaster asked. "I am Professor Dumbledore."

"Pleased to meet you," Artemis said, stepping forward and extending his hand for a formal shake.

"Please, sit down," Dumbledore said cordially, and Artemis did so, crossing his legs and folding his hands in his lap.

"Oh, and this is Fawkes," Dumbledore said, noticing Artemis glance at the pheonix. Artemis nodded and returned his gaze to the headmaster.

"So tell me, when did you begin noticing your magic?" The elderly professor asked curiously.

Artemis had a story prepared for this, and he launched into an account of how he began noticing strange things happening and soon began experimenting with his newfound powers. Once he performed enough, he received the letter from Hogwarts.

Dumbledore nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair. Fawkes let out a soft cry in the brief silence that followed before the headmaster spoke again.

"Since you have no magical experience, normally I would put you in first or possible second year, though your age would normally be fourth year. However, I know that you have a prodigious intellect. Instead, would you be willing to take a few exams so we can place you in the appropriate grade? You could have a few days to study, if you wish."

Artemis smirked slightly, the first expression he had shown since he stepped into the office.

"I would not be opposed to taking a few exams. I would welcome it in fact. But I have no need to study first- I'm ready to begin first thing tomorrow."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Very well then. If you'll wait a moment, I'll dispatch Fawkes to fetch an escort for you so you may go to your room to rest." The old man stood and spoke briefly to Fawkes, who vanished in a puff of flames and feathers. He turned back to Artemis. "Someone will wake you up at 7:30. There will be breakfast in the Great Hall at eight. For convienence, your exams will take place there as well."

Artemis nodded and turned his attention to the door as someone knocked on it.

"That'll be you escort," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "Good night."

"Good night," Artemis replied before rising from his seat and stepping out into the hall, where a hunched man with stringy hair and a sour expression awaited him, a cat winding around his ankles. Without a word, the man led him down the staircase, into the hall, and through the castle to a small door.

"I'll be here in the morning to escort you to breakfast," the man said briefly, before stalking back the way he had come. Artemis didn't waste time watching him go and turned to the door, cautiously opening it.

To his pleasing, the room was rather spacious, hung with tapestries and carpeted with plush rugs. A fireplace burned merrily in the corner, and a tall four-poster bed stood against one wall, a wooden trunk at the foot.

Artemis saw that his bags were already in his room, and smiled thinly as he began to prepare for bed. Magical castles definitely had their advantages, he thought as he climbed into the thick, warm sheets.

* * *

After the pale, composed teen left, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and absently stroked the newly returned Fawkes, who had perched on his desk. He was deep in thought.

The boy unsettled him. There was a darkness and coldness lurking in his eyes, especially the icy blue one. But at the same time, he could see tentative warmth in the hazel eye. It seemed to him that the boy had perfected his mask of indiffrence, but that it was actually a mask. What it was meant to conceal or protect against, the headmaster didn't know. But the boy was strange. And Dumbledore had only met three boys before who had that much pain and sadness buried in their gaze. One was the most famous wizard that had ever lived. But he had done terrible things. The other was equally famous, but walked in the light and loved instead of hated. And the last seemed inconsequential, silly even. But his parents had undergone a terrible fate and he could have been in the second boy's place if not for chance.

Dumbledore sighed and took off his glasses. He was only sure of one thing.

Whatever Artemis Fowl became, it would be great. But would it be great... or great and terrible?

* * *

In the morning Artemis was woken by loud rapping at the door. "I'm up!" He called.

"Be out in no less than half an hour!" An irritable voice called- the man from the night before. Artemis sighed and rolled out of bed to prepare for his day.

Fifteen minuted later, an immaculately groomed, suited teenager stepped out of the room. The man grunted and started off down a hallway, Artemis following silently, his eyes taking in everything he saw and memorizing the layout of the castle.

They reached a massive doorway and stepped through into an enormous, long hall. Four tables ran along its length, with one smaller table at the head of the room. There appeared to be no ceiling, but rather a sunny blue sky dotted with wispy white clouds. Artemis noted this with interest before following the man up toward the small table, at which sat a few adults- teachers, Artemis presumed.

There was a tiny wisp of a man, Professor McGonagall (who nodded gravely at Artemis), a bat-like man with a hooked nose and greasy black hair, a wild-haired, rather dumpy witch, and a few others, who sat at the far end, conversing quietly. The sallow-faced man stared sharply at Artemis, his dark eyes glittering. Artemis returned his gaze cooly before settling in an empty chair that his escort had pointed out, between him and McGonagall.

He saw that the table was heaped with all manner of breakfast foods and beverages, and helped himself to some Earl Grey and toast, seemingly paying attention only to his own plate but keenly listening to the conversations around him. He first learned the names of those directly around him- aside from McGonagall, there was Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, and Severus Snape.

They were quiety but vehemently discussing an upcoming event in the school year. From what he heard, Artemis deduced that it would be rather dangerous and would involve an age limit for students. The Ministry of Magic was highly involved, and so were two other magical schools. The teachers were split on whether or not the event should occur, based on the danger and risk.

As the conversation turned to lesson plans, Artemis excused himself from the table and rose. Seeing he was done, his escort limped over from where he had been glowering in a corner of the Hall.

"Take a seat at one of the tables. Your first test will be provided immediately," The man said briefly, before leaving Artemis and going to speak to McGonagall, who pulled a sheaf of papers out of her robes, along with a small bottle of ink and a long, black feather quill. Seeing these last two items, Artemis was rather irritated with himself for not thinking ahead to bring his own. The man returned to Artemis and handed him the papers, ink, and quill.

"You have three hours."

Artemis almost smirked as the man left, the tone in which he set the time limit clearly showing that he thought there was no way Artemis could finish the test inside it.

Artemis bent over the paper and looked at the first question, which was a stupidly simple one about wands.

_Three hours? Ha. _

* * *

One hour later Artemis finished the last question on the thick test. He tapped the table, causing his escort to look up from where he had been doodling something on a scrap of parchment. As he stood and stowed it away, Artemis swore he saw torture device blueprints.

"I'm done," Artemis said innocently, holding the thick sheaf of papers up. The questions varied between multiple choice and short answer, and started out as general magic questions before getting more complicated and in-depth. But Artemis's reading had prepared him well.

The man grumbled and snatched the papers from his hand, flipping through them with a dark look. When he saw they were all completed, he tucked them under his arm and began limping out of the Great Hall, pausing a moment to glance back at Artemis.

"I'll return shortly with a teacher for your practical exam. Don't move."

Artemis did not move, but rather took his wand out from an inner pocket of his suit and idly examined the polished surface. The was long, slender, and straight, with a slightly thicker handle of carved wood that coiled around the main shaft before fading into the other wood. The wood itself was perfectly smooth and polished, with a varnish on top of the red striped wood.

As he heard two pairs of footsteps Artemis stowed it again and looked up to see a thin-lipped McGonagall striding toward him, his escort hurriedly limping behind. As she reached him, she turned briefly to the man behind her. "Please give us a moment alone, Filch." As Filch left, Artemis mentally filed the name away in his mind.

"Mr. Fowl," McGonagall addressed him, sitting down on the bench next to him and regarded him with a sharp gaze. "How exactly did you complete the test in that short of a time period?" She asked bluntly.

Artemis smiled slowly, but it didn't reach his eyes and reminded the professor of a hungry vampire.

"Let's just say I am a very smart boy."

A chill ran down McGonagall's spine at his quietly menacing words, and she had to drop her eyes from his off-putting mismatched pair.

"Well, we'll see how well you did when I grade it. However, I'm here now for your practical magic exam. I'll be giving you a number of simple spells to perform, and any you don't know I'll walk you through. I assume you have your wand?" She stood and retreated to the middle of the aisle between two long tables.

Artemis drew out his wand from his suit and walked to a spot a few feet from McGonagall, facing her, wand out and ready. "I'm ready."

"Very good. How about a simple Lumos? Good. Nox. Yes, very good." The boy performed the spells with relative ease. She continued going through spells, many coming on his first try but a few taking more. For a beginner, that was exceptional.

"Well, that should be it for now. Unless there's anything you'd like to show me, perhaps?" She somehow felt like the boy had been holding back during the test, bored even with the spells she assigned him. She was proved right when, at her question, he grinned suddenly.

"Expecto Patronum!" Artemis said confidently, and before she could even register her shock at the advanced spell a silver blue mist slowly issued from the tip of the wand, gathering in a mass near the ground before solidifying into a glowing, etheral coyote, which stalked towards her and then paced back to Artemis before vanishing.

"Very impressive, Mr. Fowl. Very impressive indeed," She said, fascinated and slightly afraid. "That should be it for now. You've completed all our tests. Filch can lead you anywhere in the castle- your rooms, the library, or just on a tour. Dinner is at 7:00. I'll have your test graded by then."

Artemis nodded, and she swept out of the room.

"Library please, Mr. Filch," Artemis said in a rather condescending tone, and the hunched man scowled darkly before leading Artemis out of the Great Hall.

* * *

That night, Artemis arrived at the Great Hall at exactly 6:59 after a long day of reading and absorbing as much knowledge as possible. As before, he sat between McGonagall and the ominous figure of Professor Snape. After all the teachers there and Artemis served themselves from the dishes in front of them, McGonagall turned to Artemis.

"Well done on your test. Nearly perfect score. I've talked to the headmaster, and he agrees that we can place you in fourth year after all, so you'll be with students your own age."

"Thank you, Professor," Artemis said, pleased with himself. He was less likely to stick out if he was among children his own age- well, Artemis Fowl would never completely blend in among normal teenagers, even magical ones.

"Congratulations," The man on the other side of Artemis said cooly, a distinct sneer in his voice.

"Thank you," Artemis said equally coldly, giving Snape a thin, artificial smile before quickly eating his meal, avoiding further conversation, eager to get back to his room and send a message to Butler via his new owl, whom he had christened Archimedes.

* * *

Artemis spent the next five days until September first wandering the castle, memorizing the layout and all the moving staircases, trick stairs, and hidden doors. He also spent much of his time in the library, soaking up information on the wizarding world like a sponge and relaying the important bits back to Butler, and then the fairies.

The day before term started, Dumbledore asked Artemis if he would like to go to London and ride the train to Hogwarts so he could make a few friends before the school year and not seem as much as an outsider. "That won't be necessary, sir," Artemis had replied with his signature vampriric smile. So now, the evening of the start of term, Artemis was waiting just outside the Great Hall for the students to arrive. McGonagall had informed him that he would wait outside with the first years and be Sorted last so he could go to his proper House.

As the first older students began to trickle in from outside, dripping wet and shivering, Artemis just calmly waited by the door, unruffled by the many stares and whispers he recieved as the student body passed, slowly filling up the long tables in the Great Hall. Once all the older students were inside, a gaggle of tiny first years arrived, lead by a massive, wild-looking man, who seemed to have draped his moleskin coat over a miniscule, soaking wet boy. They barely paid Artemis any attention, but instead listened intently to McGonagall as she explained to them about the Houses.

The doors opened. The first years entered, Artemis trailing behind, not bothering to look from side to side to see the tide of whispers that followed him. A tattered hat sat limply on a stool at the head of the room- Artemis, who knew what to expect, wasn't surprised when the hat opened a rip along its brim like a mouth and began to sing.

___A thousand years or more ago  
when I was newly sewn,  
there lived four wizards of renown,  
whose names are still well known:  
bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,  
fair Ravenclaw, from glen,  
sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,  
shrewd Slytherin, from fen.  
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,  
they hatched a daring plan  
to educate young sorcerers  
thus Hogwarts School began.  
Now each of these four founders  
formed their own house, for each  
did value different virtues  
in the ones they had to teach.  
By Gryffindor, the bravest were  
Prized far beyond the rest;  
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest  
would always be the best;  
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were  
Most worthy of admission;  
And power-hungry Slytherin  
loved those of great ambition.  
While still alive they did divide  
Their favorites from the throng,  
Yet how to pick the worthy ones  
When they were dead and gone?_

_'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,_  
_He whipped me off his head_  
_The founders put some brains in me_  
_So I could choose instead!_  
_Now slip me snug about your ears,_  
_I've never yet been wrong,_  
_I'll have a look inside your mind_  
_And tell where you belong!_

And the Sorting began, with a variety of terrified-looking first years going happily to their assigned tables. When it was done, Artemis was left standing alone in the center of the hall. He could feel hundreds of eyes on him.

"Artemis Fowl the Second."

Artemis steadily walked up to the stool, congratulating himself on not tripping when he reached it and sat. McGonagall placed the hat on his head, and Artemis instinctively closed his eyes as a voice sounded inside his head.

_What do we have here? You're not a wizard._

_No. But you needn't let anyone know._

_True. I don't think you're a danger. In fact, I think we might need you ahead. _

_Thank you... so will you Sort me now?_

_In such a hurry. When you've lived as long as I have, you'll realize that you should slow down. But yes, I will. You're just a difficult case. Extremely intelligent- you could easily be in Ravenclaw. But hard-working and loyal too. And brave. Very brave. You'd do anything for your friends, though you may not realize it yet. All the things valued for Slytherin- cunning, cleverness, ambition, resourcefulness. Though you could have a hard time there, not being pureblood. Anyway, I could stick you in any House and you'd do well. _

_What House can I fulfill my mission best in?_

_Ah. For that, you want the place you can find out the most information about the Dark Lord._

_Yes, I suppose so. _

_Well then, I'm decided. Though I strongly suggest that you keep a close eye on Harry Potter. _

_Harry Potter?_

_Yes. But we've been talking for a while. People are wondering. Good luck._

And with that, Artemis opened his eyes.

The Sorting Hat opened its mouth and bellowed out a single word.

"Slytherin!"


	11. Chapter 10

**AN: I continue to be gladly surprised by the interest in my little story! Thank you, everyone (especially the reviewers- you guys make my day 394% better every time I find a new review)**

**From here on out, I'll be using the book to help me with dialogue and events and details. I'll follow the basic plot of The Goblet of Fire, but with a few major changes. If this continues to get the feedback it's getting, I'll probably go throughout the entire year!**

**Oh, and a quick question:**

**My brothers think Butler should be secretly living in the Forbidden Forest to keep an eye on Artemis (of course, one of them also thinks Artemis should kill Voldemort, then take his place, kill all the 'little wizard children', and rule over the wizarding world with an iron fist and a bunch of Death Eaters). I thought it would be both fun and funny to do. What about you?**

**My other brother thinks Butler should take over DADA and make it 'Self-Defense against the Dark Arts' and teach them how to fight. Just though it was funny, not a serious suggestion!**

Artemis felt McGonagall remove the Sorting Hat from his head and heard polite clapping from the crowd in the Great Hall, far removed from the thunderous applause each first-year had received. They were wary of him. He smiled grimly to himself as he slipped off the stool and walked to the Slytherin table, all of the occupants watching him with a mixture of curiosity, condescension, and confusion. Artemis sat at an empty spot and turned to the boy next to him, a pale, pointy-looking boy with slicked-back white-blonde hair.

"Artemis Fowl the Second," he said, offering a hand, which the other boy took reluctantly.

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He paused, clearly waiting for the name to register. When Artemis showed no sign of recognition, he suddenly looked disgusted and scooted over on the bench a few inches.

"You're a mudblood!" Malfoy spat, and instantly there was a sort of stiffening around Artemis, as the people around him averted their eyes and a few started murmuring to each other. Artemis smiled coldly.

"If by that you mean that I am not from magical parentage, you are correct. However, that is a pointless bias and only for the cowardly and foolish. There is no proof that wizards from non-magical backgrounds perform any less well than purebloods, in fact there are many cases of them performing better. In any case, if you but any basis into such a ridiculous prejudice, you are obviously not worth my time."

Artemis turned away from a pale, stunned Malfoy, gaping soundlessly at him, and surveyed the table coolly.

"Any questions?"

Everyone slowly shook their heads and Artemis smirked again icily before turning to the front of the Great Hall, where Dumbledore had stood. The headmaster spread his arms, and told them to tuck in. Food instantly filled the empty dishes on the long tables, and a buzz of chatter filled the Hall as students helped themselves to food and struck up conversations. Artemis served himself and sat eating quietly, observing the students around him and mentally categorizing them into categories of useful and not useful.

There was Malfoy, whose ego was among the largest Artemis had ever seen. Crabbe and Goyle were two brutish boys who were obviously his lackeys and bodyguards. Blaise Zabini was a quiet, reserved boy who was equally arrogant. Pansy Parkinson was a fawning sycophant without a single original thought in her head. Overall, around Artemis there was no one he could befriend and worm knowledge out of. He would have to employ different strategies to gain information.

As the meal concluded and the remnants of dessert faded from now-clean plates, Dumbledore stood again. He asked for the student's attention for a few notices, gn gave the standard warnings and rules. But then he said that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup wouldn't be taking place. A buzz of indignation immediately rose from the students, but Dumbledore plowed on- apparently there was an event taking place in October.

"It is my pleasure to announce that this year at Hogwarts-" But before the headmaster could finish, there was a boom and the Great Hall doors swung open to reveal a dark, ominous figure. As lightning flashed and he advanced into the firelight of the Hall, Artemis could clearly make out his features. The man's face was rugged, cragged, and scarred. One of his eyes was dark and suspicious, the other a large, electric blue globe that zipped wildly around the room. He leaned on a tall staff and limped heavily all the way to Dumbledore, where he shook his hand and sat down.

"I'm pleased to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody," Dumbledore said cheerily, before clapping. The huge man named Hagrid at the table clapped too, but no one else and the applause quickly died away as the entire Hall stared uneasily at Moody, who, unperturbed, rummaged through his robes and pulled out a hip flask before drinking from it. Artemis frowned slightly. He was obviously very wary and suspicious, and judging from his scars and the wooden leg, had had a lot of experience with dangerous people.

"As I was saying," Dumbledore said, bringing the Hall's attention back to him. "Hogwarts has the honor this year of hosting a very exciting event over the coming school year, an event that hasn't been held in over a century. I am very pleased to announce that the Triwizard Tournament is taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said a tall, lanky, redhead at the Gryffindor table, causing the Hall to relax and laughter to fill the air. Dumbledore smiled and went on to explain about the tournament, which Artemis partially tuned out, having read all about it. He was certainly not going to put his name in for the tournament. It was dangerous- had, in fact, been discontinued because of the high death rate- and the three tasks were often very physical. It wouldn't help his mission at all. And, tuning back into Dumbledore, was technically too young for the contest anyway, sinc ethey were putting an age limit on it (an announcement that caused uproar in the hall as many of those younger than seventeen protested). He raised his voice and continued through the noise.

"The delegations form Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will arrive in October and remain with us for most of this school year. I know that you will extend every possilbe courtesy to our foreign visitors while they stay with us, and will give all your support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is chosen. But now, it's late, and I know it's very important for you to be alert and rested for your lessons tomorrow. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

Noise filled the hall as chairs scraped back and students fell into conversation, masses of students all heading for their House dormitories. Artemis followed the tightly-packed Slytherin groupto the dungeons, where they entered a cool, stone room with faint green light playing over the walls. They must be somewhere under the lake, Artemis realized. A prefect showed him to his dorm room, which was also mostly stone. A few dark rugs and tapestries hung on the walls, and five beds with green curtains stood against the walls, large trunks at the bottom of each. Artemis opened them until he found the one that his belongings had been moved to from his guest room, and quickly got ready for bed and was in his bed, curtains drawn, when the rest of his dormmates filtered in from the common room. From their voices, Artemis recognized Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise Zabini. He frowned and sighed quietly. He wouldn't be spending much time in here, that was certain.

* * *

The next morning the storm was gone, but they sky and the ceiling of the Great Hall remained a surly gray as Artemis quietly ate and studied his schedule. Along with the normal core classes, he had opted to take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, the two extra subjects that appealed to his tastes most. He had almost laughed at the prospect of taking Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, or, God forbid- Divination. Today he had double Artihmancy in the afternoon, and Herbology with the Ravenclaws just before.

Artemis headed to his first class quickly, moving through the relatively empty halls, clad in an immaculate suit, bag in hand.

After Arithmancy, which he had no homework for, Artemis joined the line for dinner in the entrance hall just behind a trio of Gryffindors, with red, black, and bushy brown hair respectively. To his displeasure, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle joined the line just behind him. Luckily, their attention was focused on the trio in front of him.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!" Malfoy shouted, causing them to turn and direct looks of anger and irritation at him. Artemis stepped back subtly. There was obviously a long-running conflicts here, which he didn't want to become part of.

"Your dad's in the paper- listen to this!" Malfoy said gleefully, proceeding to loudly read out an article from the paper he was holding, pausing to periodically insult Weasley's parents. The black-haired boy next tothe redhead began trading equally childish insults with Malfoy, until he turned away and Malfoy shot a curse at him. Artemis backed away even furter into the crowd, melting into the gaggle of students, hearing some shrieks from both students and what sounded like a few adults. None of his business, though.

After eating dinner rapidly, Artemis exited the Hall to go to the library for more research.

He was walking in the door when another student rushing in nearly knocked him down.

"Oh, I am so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going!" said the girl who had been standing with Weasley earlier as she helped him up.

"No harm done," Artemis said formally, straightening his suit. "I am Artemis Fowl the Second."

Taking his proffered hand, the girl smiled. "Hermione Granger."

**Sorry to end it there, but I can't type any more tonight and wanted to update.**

**Sorry also for the filler chapter!**

**Anyways, please keep reviewing, and have a fantastic day!**


	12. Another Note (sorry!)

**I am so, so, so very sorry. **

**Life and school have taken over, and I haven't been able to write any more or update. This week is finals, so don't expect anything until after Sunday at least. But the good news is that after this week, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week: summer! That means tons of time to write and lots of updates!**

**Expect much more interaction between the Golden Trio and Artemis, class time, and again my big exciting surprise that I am totally psyched for! **

**Thank you so, so much to my reviewers, followers, and favoriters. Every bit of feedback I get brightens my day. **

**Sorry again for no chapters in so long!**


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